Factors Affecting Learning in Older Adults

Perceived HRM practices, organizational commitment, and voluntary early retirement among late‐career managers

“…Although providing opportunities to serve as a mentor, trainer, coach, or internal consultant has been proposed in the professional and academic literature as a means to maintain mature workers' commitment to the organization (Glass, 1994;Mirvis & Hall, 1996), the present study shows this practice to be potentially counterproductive. Two reasons may account for this finding.…”

“…For example, training opportunities may enhance older workers' self-development and personal growth (Maurer & Rafuse, 2001). Similarly, assigning aging workers to such new roles as mentor or coach for less-tenured employees is a way for employers to provide older workers with challenging work that fits their unique skills and accommodates their needs (Glass, 1994;Mirvis & Hall, 1996). Likewise, flexible work arrangements allow older workers to reconcile their desires to stay employed and achieve work-life balance (Atchley, 1993;Siegrist et al, 2007).…”

“…Assigning senior workers to new roles has been argued to be a way to provide them with meaningful and interesting work experiences that both value their unique learning styles and experience (Mirvis & Hall, 1996) and meet their specific needs (Glass, 1994). For instance, assigning older workers to such roles as mentor, trainer, or consultant, or assigning them to special projects may help transfer their know-how and expertise to younger generations, provide them with a sense of fulfillment in their professional life, and allow them to stay in a work environment that recognizes their value.…”

Older adults, e-health literacy, and collaborative learning: An experimental study

“…Further, older adults learn more effectively when they perceive the content of learning being relevant to their personal lives (Knowles, 1990). Older adults generally need more time to learn and perform better on outcome measures when learning is built upon existing knowledge base and complexity increases gradually (Belbin & Belbin, 1972;Glass, 1994;Hayslip & Kennelly, 1985;Sterns & Doverspike, 1987).…”

A distinctive theory of teaching and learning for older learners: why and why not?

“…Previous research has identified significant differences between learning in older and younger adulthood in various dimensions, including physical (e.g. Glass, 1996;Jones & Bayen, 1998;Merriam & Caffarella, 1999), cognitive (e.g. Brigman & Cherry, 2002;Czaja & Sharit, 1993;Echt, Morrell, & Park, 1998), sociocultural (e.g.…”